AIB Promoting Education in North Dublin
10 March 2003

Padraig McGowan, Branch Manager, AIB Whitehall and Maeve O'Byrne, Student Support & Development

Promoting positive attitudes to education among young people and in the wider community are among the aims of DCU's North Dublin Access Programme, which recently received funding of €11,000 under the AIB Better Ireland Programme.

The NDA, in conjunction with Ballymun Educational Support Team (BEST), provide programmes to encourage a successful transition from primary to secondary school and to promote a positive attitude to further education. Groups of primary school children attend an after-school club at DCU once a week. Here they interact with trained DCU mentors, are given homework support and take part in activities, such as soccer that promote social interaction and increase confidence.

DCU students, mentors, pictured here with children from St Joseph's School, Ballymun playing basketball in the afternoon club in the Sports Complex

Another programme to benefit from the funding will be the Planet Discovery camps jointly run over the summer by the NDA and DCU's Physics and Chemistry Schools. Through the promotion of science and maths as fun the students will learn to appreciate these subjects and hopefully be inspired to continue studying them throughout school and possibly into third level.

Maeve O'Byrne, Access Officer said: "We are delighted with the funding from the AIB Better Ireland Programme. It will enable us to reach our target students and give them an insight into the variety and opportunity of continuing education."

Padraig McGowan, Branch Manager, AIB Whitehall, commented: "The AIB Better Ireland Programme provides funding to projects such as Access Service and BEST that make a difference to children's lives. To date more than €2 million has been granted to over 200 projects nation-wide that help children affected by lack of education though poverty, drug / alcohol abuse, or homelessness."

www.aib.ie/betterireland